Judge limits fathers interim visits after relocation; stepmother barred pending DCS conditions

A Dixon County chancery judge on Friday suspended the operation of an existing parenting plan and narrowed a fathers interim parenting time after the father moved to Florida without court authorization and the Department of Childrens Services investigated reports of injuries and anxiety in the children.

The father, who testified he moved for family and employment reasons, told the court he planned a parenting schedule that would give him longer but less frequent time with the children. The mother, Whitney Marcello, opposed out-of-state overnight parenting while the DCS investigation remained unresolved and told the court she had placed both children in therapy and that one child had bruises documented in medical visits.

"There is enough evidence in this record to indicate that DCS was investigating this case," the judge said, and on a temporary basis the court granted the mothers motion to suspend the parenting plan pending a final hearing. The judge ordered a temporary schedule of one weekend per month (Friday 6 p.m. to Sunday 6 p.m.) to take place in Tennessee and said the father may exercise that time in Dixon or Davidson County or other contiguous counties until the court holds a final hearing.

The judge also entered an interim restriction: the fathers partner (the childrens stepmother) is to have no contact with the children until the court is satisfied she has completed the steps recommended by DCS and family-services personnel. The court described the restriction as a precaution, not a finding that the stepmother abused the children, and said the restriction could be lifted when the required condition is met.

Mother Whitney Marcello testified that medical visits and reports prompted DCS involvement and that she was not seeking to prevent meaningful contact with the father but sought to protect the children during the interim. "If he is alone, I don't mind if it's an overnight visit," she testified, "I would prefer for [the stepmother] not to have contact at all in the interim." The father disputed that he had tried to evade services and told the court he had provided contact information to DCS and intended to cooperate.

The court said it favored a gradual approach so that the children could acclimate to the fathers new home; it suggested coordinated, supervised or short introduction visits as appropriate and encouraged the parents to cooperate with DCS and each other to restore broader visitation once conditions are satisfied.

The temporary schedule remains in effect until the court holds a further hearing on the relocation and modification of the parenting plan.